The vacuum infusion process is a widely used process to manufacture fibre composite parts. Understanding the compaction behaviour of technical textiles is a crucial factor to improve the vacuum infusion process and its process simulation. The thickness of the part varies within the process. Two effects are responsible for  the change: a smearing effect and the pressure of the resin. This change in thickness leads also to a change of permeability, which influences the flow through the textile.

As part of the DFG project ProSim R, one objective was to investigate this compaction behaviour. In the poster, an experimental setup is described to monitor the height of the part by a line laser measurement unit and the pressure of the incoming resin at defined positions. The experimental results show the correlation between the resin pressure and the thickness of the textile. The different behaviour of the textile by using a semipermeable membrane at the outlet instead of an open outlet was analysed.